May 18, 2010

Rock your world marble. . . !! - Studio Visit with Elizabeth Turk

Elizabeth Turk Studio - OC

While on the hunt for inspiring sculpture at
the Armory Show in NYC, I stumbled across an elegantly carved piece
of marble, so delicate that it resembled ribbon.

It belonged to artist Elizabeth Turk. Instantly that name rang a bell, as she had done an artist residency in our very own Grand Central Art Center, Downtown
Santa Ana. AND that happens to be where I called home while in grad school. Go GCAC.

The piece was astonishing.That was when I set out to find her . . . not
as easy as I had expected.Eventually I managed to finagle her number out of someone (in the OC, I think there are even less than 6 degrees of separation between us all). Elizabeth Turk graciously invited me to her
studio in Santa Ana to give the OC ArtBlog followers the inside scoop. Totally
amazing.

This swan-like
woman with bright blue eyes escorted me around the property until we settled
down at a piece in progress, one of her famous 'collars.' As we spoke, those little hands went to
work, filling away from the inside out of a piece so precarious that it
quivered at the mere rubbing of a file.
Astonished I asked, "how delicate is that piece?" (I was think. . . marble, stone, relatively break proof right?)

Elizabeth explains that the process she
utilizes to carve and the shapes rendered are the result of a balancing act based on the intimate relationship between the stone and the hand that
carves it. Cracks can happen at any time and cause irrevocable damage. So if you are wondering, NO I did not touch anything.

The process can take up to 2-3 years before arriving at
completion, not to mention the care that is needed in construction of the base,
the armature that the piece rests upon, and the transport/installation of the
artwork to it's new home.

Elizabeth Turk has an incredible talent, of
which she uses to combine classical marble carving techniques with contemporary
themes in a way that maintains the integrity and reputation of crafts(wo)men
and their trade.

Even Michelangelo
would be impressed with her creations.Go Elizabeth!We LOVE the
work.Thank you for inviting the
OC Art Blog into your studio. We will keep you all updated on her pending
exhibitions, in the mean time here is a link to her gallery Hirschl & Adler in New York.